BETA 2.0

Hi folks,
Squatting Penguins Team here signing in to announce the release of Beta 2.0 for The Mims Beginning. We took to heart your feedback from the last couple of months. The update brings along numerous new game elements, additions, settings and further optimization. We are happy with what we were able to achieve in that time. We tried to improve on all the game elements that you brought to our attention to hopefully deliver a smoother and more enjoyable experience.

Main elements that we have added/enhanced are:

• Camera steering has been rebuilt from scratch to give a more “god-like” feel to it. Clicking on the map and holding down the mouse wheel / middle button will anchor the mouse cursor and allow to drag the camera around that point (think touchscreens). To rotate the camera, simply select a point on the map by clicking with your mouse wheel / middle button and then press the right mouse button to rotate the camera around the item. Thank you for all your input regarding the feature and we hope that you will find the new system to your liking.
  
• Gem mining as an alternative to selling animals: Starting with the next update you will be able to extract the crystal deposits that dot the island. To extract the Gems, hit repeatedly its external rock layer with your Guardians or PSI powers. With that obstacle out of the way, our mims will hurry to mine the deposit and carry it back to our PSI tower. This added feature should make for a more fluid and enjoyable gameplay in the early phase.
  
• Bio weeds as an alternative to planting: Up till now the only way of obtaining Biomass was through planting a bio plant and waiting for it to bear fruits. Bio weeds will grow on the islands from the outset, producing fruits at irregular intervals. The weeds also contain a single fruit of high caloric content that can be obtained only upon setting the plant on fire, before being transported by mims to the Extractor. Weeds should speed up dramatically the starting phase of the game, allowing for more options and giving to the player extra freedom.
  
• Enhancements to generating Psi Energy: A special new button appeared in the PSI tower. With it, players is able to manually assign how many Mims should be spending their time on psi-generating meditation. Thanks to that, casting spells will be possible in the very early stages of the game, even without electricity. This new feature might also come in handy in the times when you happen to have too many Mims and not enough work to go around. Now the otherwise unoccupied Mims will hang around the PSI tower.
  
• Mysteries and secrets: the initial islands contain brand new content in form of secret objects and puzzles to reward exploration and perceptiveness. At present, the feature is implemented in a rudimentary way with clicking on a given item causing to unlock it, however majority of the levels in the final version of the game are set to feature secrets and puzzles, often times quite challenging.
  
• Defensive formations: we have implemented a system of combining several guardians into a single unit. Simply click on any given guardian and click on the “create formation” option to make the nearby guardians gather up. The unit will not act on its own and is fully dependent on player commands. Formations are particularly useful when attacking powerful enemies and large enemy swarms.
  
• We have greatly improved Mims’ AI. This was easily one of the most time-consuming features to have been introduced with the latest update. The workers now coordinate with each other, carrying out tasks, such as collecting fruits or Gems, and constructing buildings, much more efficient for a more fluid and compelling game experience. Additionally, the guardians behave now in a more intelligent manner, attempting to create distance between themselves and their enemy before attacking again, thus making the hasten power much more useful.

Other additions/improvements:

• Life, Energy, Growth and Progress bars counter – provides the player with added insight regarding different in-game statistics, etc.
• Gem transfer – from now on mims shall transport Gems from Spaceport to PSI Tower. Consequently, to spend Gems you will have to deliver them first to the PSI Tower.
• Turn the Mims house on/off option
• The house shows now the added energy and health of each mims currently staying inside, allowing the player to assess, how effective is the structure, in case of an electricity shortage,
• “Select Next Hero” button, which allows the player to toggle to the next hero without having to find him on the map
• Terravermus (a.k.a. big bug) is now prone to PSI power that slows down movement
• The mouse cursor changes dynamically to show that attack cannot be performed, when Guardians become tired.
• An updated and more accessible tutorial and early game sequences that provide a better introduction to the game.
• Bug fixes for side missions; new side mission added.
• New info on the timeline about Eviltidas (evil creature in the canyon level) spitting out carnivorous plants. Info about incoming rains.
• New, improved red-fruit tree model
• Range template for the PSI powers will now also display Power cooldown and lack of availability, when the player doesn’t have enough PSI energy stored
• Toggle Vsync on/off in the game’s settings
• Tweaked difficulty level across several maps.
• Fine-tuned gameplay, animal / technology cost, task duration, energy production, animal and fruit
• Smell, enemy’s strength, etc. -- a whole boatload of tweaks that makes for a much more fluid and enjoyable experience

Save game feature has been high on many people’s wishlist, however we wanted to focus on making the gameplay as fun and enjoyable as possible, since even the slightest change in gameplay brings its fair share of challenges in way of carrying out tests and altering game settings. Starting with today we will be fully committed to delivering the save game feature along with new levels, three of which are already in works. We have also been working on new animals and bosses that we don’t want to reveal just yet, but we will be able to deliver them with the next update quite soon, having already made some progress.
The next update will additionally feature new levels / side mission and secrets.

Thanks for sticking it out for us, we sincerely hope that you will give Mims another crack and share your feedback on new features and other game elements that still require our attention. Lastly, be sure to spread the word about what’s the latest in The Mims.

Thanks!
Team Squatting Penguins
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